Journalism at war: Ukraine vs Russia

A look at how the Ukraine information war with Russia is creating a dangerous environment for journalists.

A pro-Kiev website called Myrotvorets has leaked the personal data of thousands of journalists covering the war in Eastern Ukraine. The exposure has put reporters at risk, collateral damage in the information war in Ukraine.

The justification offered by the site is the suspicion that journalists have been collaborating with separatist, pro-Russian forces, in the east.

The separatists in Donbass have enforced their own rules. Journalists wanting to cover the fighting in Eastern Ukraine must have the appropriate accreditation as issued by the separatists.

"It's completely clear why the authorities of DNR [Donbass People's Republic] introduced this accreditation process. It's not so much to control and regulate the number of journalists coming into the region, but rather to understand who these people are, and whether any of them would be 'inconvenient' to have around or are secret agents," says Katya Serhatskova, journalist at Hromadske TV.

The balancing act for reporters and news consumers in that part of the world is: how do you deal with the confusion and misinformation and sort fact from fiction – on both sides – while still upholding freedom of the press? The Listening Post's Nic Muirhead reports.